


You're Felining Fine, and other lies to tell yourself

by Verl



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mostly Fluff, how can you resist, same 'canon' as the texting traumas but stands alone ok, there's a cat, vr au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23230369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verl/pseuds/Verl
Summary: Rantaro comes to meet Ryoma's new four-legged friend.Of course, you can only talk about a cat for so long before things turn to your shared reality.
Kudos: 20





	You're Felining Fine, and other lies to tell yourself

“It’s unlocked, let yourself in,” Ryoma called from the couch, fumbling to find the bright blue bookmark that Shuichi insisted he should take.

“I’m hoping you don’t lock it because you’re brave, and not because you have a death wish.” Rantaro was smiling as he entered the tennis player’s apartment, but the way his teeth were clenched betrayed the strain of it.

“Nah. Just too much of a bother to fumble for the lock when someone’s waiting to come in. Neighbors below me will think I’m hosting hoedowns in here if they hear me hopping for that lock all the time.” he waved the man’s concern away as he put the book aside. “You hungry, or just want to see the furball?”

“Well I have to meet the feline that melted your heart. Didn’t you end up going back the next day for her?”

He coughed and pulled on the collar of his sweater, thankful he couldn’t really meet Rantaro’s eyes. “I was just planning to look, but she seemed so lonely there. If I keep this up you’ll all be calling me a softy.”

“Well I think a friend that isn’t a mind scrambled mess is a great idea.” He paused, glancing around the room. Other than the book, the place barely looked lived in at all. Everything was standard and came with the place, or looked new and unused. “Is she skittish with new people?”

“Mmm. Not sure. Think she’s just napping on my pillow, gimmie a sec.” Ryoma crossed the room, still almost stumbling from trying to account for a weight that wasn’t there. It had been over two weeks, but it still threw him, not having that chain locked to his ankle.  
A bundle of black fur was poking out from his pillowcase, the gentle rise and fall of her breathing confirming his suspicion. He couldn’t help the smile that slipped on his face from the sight. Maybe he was a softy.  
He scratched the fabric near the sleeping feline, not wanting to startle her with a touch. “Hey, you gonna wake up for me?”  
The fur wiggled a little, two wide green eyes popping out from inside the pillowcase.  
“Guess that’s a yes.” he gave her a scratch under the chin, which was met with a little rumble. “Come on, someone wants to meet ya,” he grabbed the feather toy she’d seemed the most fond of and dragged it along as he went back to the main room.  
She’d pounced on it before Rantaro was back in sight, but it was easy enough to pull it away and keep going.

“A so called criminal now sits around in comfy sweaters and teases cats. So much for no future, huh?” There was a teasing note in the green haired man’s voice, but the smile was actually reaching his eyes now as he watched Ryoma tempt the wirey mess of black fur forward.

“It beggars belief. Though I suppose if you all had killed me it wouldn’t have mattered.” he gave a casual shrug, but frowned as he noticed his friend’s brow crease. “Sorry. Shouldn’t bring up that stuff.”

“No, it’s fine. You deal how you deal.” Rantaro shrugged, but the crease stayed in place. “So, did you give her a name?”

“Sure did. It’s a good one, I think.” he watched the cat leap into the air after the toy, and stopped moving it once she pulled it down to the floor, letting the black cat enjoy her ‘victory’.

“Are you going to make me guess?”

“You have a ways to go before you could guess it.” he smirked before hopping back on to the couch. “She’s Fifteen.”

Rantaro rested a hand on his chin, considering the cat. His eyes widened as something seemed to click into place. “You made her name a tennis reference?”

“Mhhm. She always knows the score. Fifteen, Love.”

“Yup. That’s a good name. Suits her,” his smile was back as he watched her tussle with the unmoving toy, only pausing to lick at the feather occasionally. “You’ll have to watch out or she’ll be the designated therapy cat.”

“Bah, you guys can get your own cats.”

“It’s just nice to watch something play for the joy of it. She’s just...happy to be here.”

Ryoma gave him a brief glance, noting how he clutched his hands together. “Makes you a little jealous sometimes, huh?”

“That’s one way to put it.” He was bent forward, not taking his eyes away from the feline antics. Closed off, in other words.

“Well when she gets bored she might come for some pats. Or meow at us, she can be chatty.”

“That’d be nice.” his focus slipped as his phone buzzed, glancing at his pocket as if it had betrayed him.

“Don’t ignore messages on my account, I don’t mind.” he said, though he suspected that wasn’t the reason for the frown.

“It won’t be important. It vibrates when the other ones text me.”

Oh. Rantaro never really went into ‘the other ones’, to the point everyone had learned not to bother asking. The other class. The killing game he’d survived and sacrificed himself in. The one he had zero memory of.  
“Still trying to keep in touch, huh.”

“They seem to be under the impression I’ll remember. It’s creepy, since they know everything about ‘me’, I apparently told them.” he gave a short, bitter laugh before speaking in an odd deep voiced impression of someone “You lost your memory for a few days and death by shot put ball? You should be able to get the old you back! You were around longer! You should be spending time with us, not those ungrateful losers.” He broke off, twisting at a ring. “Like I had a choice about any of that.”

“Still can’t bring yourself to cut them all off though.” he said gently, not wanting to overstep.

“No. Feel like it’s unfair to them, I guess.” he let out a long sigh, blinking when Fifteen nudged his leg. “Did my sigh make you think I’m Ryoma?”

“Very funny, wiseguy. She’s just a good cat.” He gave the cat a scratch when she hopped up to the couch, flopping between the two of them. She let out a mew the second he stopped with the attention. “Bit of a demanding princess though.”

“She knows we can’t resist a soft kitty.” Rantaro kept his hands away from her face, not wanting the rings to catch on anything important. “You have any plans?”

“Nope. I should look into things I can do, but it’s too much to handle right now,” he stopped to stare out the window, eyeing the city and the constant bustle, trying to ignore the advertisements. “I know none of it was real. I should be glad my...history isn’t the truth. Yet it still messes with my thoughts.”

“Like how I keep wondering about the sisters that don’t exist.” Rantaro nodded, keeping an eye on the furball. “She’s kneading the couch by the way.”

“Let her. It’s her place too, and I don’t care about furniture. It’s no skin off my nose.”

Fifteen’s purring kept the room from being silent.

Rantaro fiddled with his rings for another long moment before speaking. “I do think getting her proves you’re doing better than most of us. I was worried you wouldn’t let yourself have something new to live for, even knowing you did nothing wrong.”

Well. That admission was a bit of a surprise. “Shoot, I don’t mean to worry everyone. My problem is practically self fixing, the others have it worse. You have it worse, you had to go through this shit twice.”

“Maybe my real survivor perk was dying before I had a whole bunch of new traumatic memories.” he had a wan smile fixed in place, even though both of them knew it wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Might have been. That’s up to you, really.” He didn’t mind being a bit of a sounding board if it helped any of them work out the mess that was their minds.

“I’ll figure it out. It could always be worse. The other ones told me what happened, and it got pretty fucked up.”

“They kept watching after you died?” Fifteen gave a meow of disapproval as his surprise stopped the gentle scritches behind the ears. “Why?”

“Wanted to know about everyone else, since they knew I’d probably be closer to you guys when I got out. At least that’s what they say.” his tone betrayed how he felt about that.

“I only know bits and pieces, since I’m not one to pry. ‘Course the second group therapy session is probably going to tell us all more than we want to know.”

“Right, that’s on Monday. I thought I could get out of it since Kaede didn’t actually kill me, but apparently she still feels really guilty,” he shrugged “So I can’t really avoid it.”

“Really it should be mandatory for all of us. Who isn’t coming?”

“Tsumugi, obviously. Having the mastermind around to gloat over the damage generally is frowned upon. Keebo is out too.” he paused, double checking something on his phone. “Apparently because he didn’t get killed or kill anyone that wasn’t the mastermind. Though I think it’s more they’re terrified he’ll kill someone if they show their faces.”

“Wait, kill someone? The robot? He wasn’t the best at interacting but was pretty clear about being about as harmful as a dust bunny.”

“I don’t know the details, Shuichi and Maki were the ones who saw it. According to them the first thing he did after waking up involved threats backed up with a cannon. So they’re worried sick that he hasn’t spoken with anyone since last week.”

“Damn. I’d be a bit more worried about the weapon.” Apparently he knew even less than he thought. Had any of the others changed that much?

“Maki claims they deserved it. Shuichi just clams up if you ask what he thinks, so I suppose he disagrees.”

They let the silence stretch out, content to just listen to the rumbling purr and fabric being torn by outstretched paws.

“We’ve all got a ways to go, it seems. Maybe after everyone can come by and meet Fifteen here. Charm the discomfort right out of us.”

“I think everyone would love that idea. Though Fifteen might need to practice some magic to be that effective.”

“Eh. She’ll manage. She’s full of good luck and purrs like a motor car.” He gave a small nod, reaching out to get his own phone to make the suggestion.  
The absolute flood of ‘yeses’ to the suggestion did bring a smile to his face.  
“You’re going to be a very popular lady, Fifteen.”  
The cat gave a lazy blink in response, comfortable leaning against him. 

“Hah, I think she knows that already. Look at that smug little face.”

“That’s cats for you. Maybe some of that feline confidence will rub off on us.”

Rantaro grinned. “Well, even if it doesn’t, she’s still cute.”

“Yup. She’s not plain with that black fur.” he murmured, feeling a bit silly. “Just means she has so many possibilities we can’t make them out yet.”

**Author's Note:**

> Someone check hell because I wrote something not Keebo centric. Clearly it has frozen over.  
> I was just in the mood to explore the VR au a little more! And Ryoma is such a good character so he gets one.  
> I don't really think I did him justice but >> An attempt was made.  
> i really need to stop taking writing breaks by writing SOMETHING ELSE.


End file.
